Jimmy Kimmel Rerun To Air On Colbert's Last Night

Jimmy Kimmel will not air a new episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, May 21, the night of Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show broadcast on CBS.

Kimmel personally confirmed the decision Monday, opting instead to air a repeat following three new episodes earlier in the week. The move is intended as a show of respect for his longtime rival and ally’s farewell.

According to LateNighter, the gesture mirrors Kimmel’s 2015 decision to go dark on the night of David Letterman’s retirement from the same CBS franchise, when he cited too much respect for Letterman to compete for viewers during the historic sendoff.

Colbert will host his final episode of The Late Show on May 21 after 11 years at the helm of the program originally launched by Letterman in 1993. CBS announced last year it would end the show for financial reasons, with the decision coming shortly after Colbert publicly criticized Paramount, CBS’s parent company, over its settlement in a 60 Minutes defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump.

As of the latest reports, NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is still scheduled to air a new episode opposite Colbert’s finale.

Fallon is also set to join Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver for a “Strike Force Five” reunion episode on Colbert’s show this Monday — a nod to their 2023 podcast — with David Letterman appearing on Thursday’s final broadcast.